About Us

The Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier is a
nonpartisan organization dedicated to the study and teaching of
founding principles and constitutional ideals.

The Center for the Constitution was established by The Montpelier Foundation in 2003 with a goal of becoming the nation's leading resource in high-quality Constitutional education. The Center serves as a teaching academy, a place where professionals are immersed in an intellectual engagement with the theory and meaning of the American Constitution. Program activities take place in the Constitutional Village, where participants read, think, and discuss the ideas and innovations that underlie our nation's great experiment in self-government.

The Center's programs vary by content, length, and audience but each are distinguished by three trademarks conducive to a constitutionally thoughtful citizenry:

• Constitutional thinking — using the fundamental ideas of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as the framework for civic reasoning in a country where, to be a full member of the American democracy, one must be first a "Citizen of the Constitution."
• Rigorous interpretation of primary documents — as sites where the innovative concepts that animate the nation's political institutions can be encountered in their original form, so that American civic life can be preserved, restored, or reformed by its citizens.
• Respect for the intellectual capacity of our participants — teachers and professionals whose status as colleagues can provide the power of a community of scholars at Montpelier, inquiring into the
  values that make us a Constitutional People.

Nearly 3,000 professionals from all 50 states and 12 countries have participated in the Center's programs — among these are teachers, state supreme court justices, and elected officials.

The Center for the Constitution is located in the shadow of James and Dolley Madison’s home, Montpelier, in
several renovated farm buildings with lodging for up to 30 people on site. Classrooms, a library, and dining facilities are also part of the “Constitutional Village” at Montpelier. The village is a complete retreat facility that allows participants to study the founding theories of the Constitution at the place where much of the theory was researched, discussed, and written about. The combination of scholarly inquiry and engagement with Montpelier’s history gives the programs a connection and immediacy that provides participants a unique experience. Studying the Constitution at Montpelier can profoundly increase the knowledge and understanding of those who participate.

Regional scholarships are available to most seminars for school teachers for Montpelier Weekend Seminars. The Center also partners with school districts applying for Teaching American History Grants to provide workshops and seminars for their teachers. 

The Center for the Constitution also provides resources for elementary, middle, and high school classes in Virginia through its sponsorship of We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution. Through We the People, the Center conducts professional development programs for educators in various locations around the state, and sponsors programs at Montpelier. The Center also sponsors the annual We the People State Competition for high school students, who participate in simulated congressional hearings on various constitutional issues.